Why Do These People Live in the Middle of a Lake? 

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I swear he was trying to see how many times he could say "Titicaca" in one video!

*"Oh, grow up"* He knows us so well 😂

As a peruvian myself, I feel honored that you made a video about our Uros people! I live in Lima, capital city, bit my mom has been to the lake a couple times and she always recalls good things from there. Also, the islands are a kind of national treasure and are featured in many ads and products. Thank you for talking about them!💙

saying “Titicaca” witha straight face, give this man an award.

Having been on one of those reed islands, the most memorable part of the experience was that a few children were running about during the whole tour and as expected, one eventually fell flat on his face. Everyone gasps in shock as you would when a child falls over but then a second later, it dawns on everyone simultaneously that an island made entirely of soft reeds does not have the same damaging properties of tarmac and the children get strait back up, unharmed The place is truly incredible but that stuck with me even so many years after the fact

I am quite certain that a very entertaining host of an absolutely epically awesome RU-vid channel, really really enjoys saying the name of a certain lake.

I’m 44 years old and I remember Mrs Harvey in 6th grade getting upset when we laughed every time she said Lake Titicaca.

I happen to be drinking Reed tea with a digestive.. thank you very much

"I can finally reed in peace" is the best pun! I love how you continuosly give them.

“Lake Titicaca” In my best Cornholio voice. “I need TP for my bunghole.”

Fascinating! Amazing to see how resourceful they have been and the complex architecture of the islands. Definitely somewhere we'd love to visit one of these days.

Not gonna lie as a kid growing up I’ve ALWAYS Dreamed of having an island 🏝 in the middle of the water like that, it could literally be anywhere in the world for me! I remember as a kid in the 70’s seeing pictures of castles in Europe that was built like that, and that that was the picture of perfection!

'Tsk, oh grow up~' and I took that personally XD

Aztecs: (stares at an Eagle yeeting a snake in a lake) also Aztecs: Ferb, I know what we will gonna do today

"You were lucky to live in a lake. There were 150 of us living in a shoebox in the middle of the road!"

I went there in 1971. It was a young adventure over summer for my friends and I. The people were beyond friendly and kind.

Dude these have such high quality, we can see how much time you take on your videos, You are definitely underrated.

I’ve been on these ”islands”! Very cool and they were super welcoming.

Incas and Spanish: “Nooooo! You can’t just evade conquest by making giant rafts out of reeds and float in the middle of a lake!” Uros: “Haha reed island go whoosh”

Fun fact, ive been on the island, its actually filled with so many cats that just sit and gaze into the lake

Meet the lice that live in the middle of thoughty2s mustache

My grandparents went there a few years back, me and my cousins all got a little knitted llama each made by the school children to sell to tourists!

I have to say, although most of this information is correct some of it has been a little sensationalized. I visited Puno and the Uros people of lake Titicaca while I was a UNI student in Peru. Some islands chose not to participate in the tourism although the vast majority did because it allowed them to afford luxuries that they previously could not have had as an indigenous people. Some islands didn’t enjoy it and didn’t participate but the several I visited did and we’re very honest about their satellite dishes and other modern luxury‘s at the bloom in tourism had allowed them. Perú has a history of discriminating against indigenous people and this boom in tourism has help them so much as a community. Many of their children do seek an education and may go on to move off the islands, although many will choose to stay simply because it is tradition and many families do not want to see their culture die. While visiting I met the Chiefs daughter of one island, and in a mixture of Spanish and her native language (I presume Quechua) she was already telling me about the island at the age of three or four. She showed me the little fish ponds that they have to grow their own fish and feed tourists. Although they do sell trinkets they also so many other things like overnight stays, clothes and traditional food/medicines

A very eloquent and moving tribute to these wonderful people . Cheers, Rik Spector

Fun fact : this title is going to be changed soon 😆

am I the only one who thinks those solar panels they have on that island, is really freaking cool and also very surprising! :)

This reminds me of this guy I saw on TV many year's ago. He'd made his own island with plastic bottles.

Remember guys, when they say "industry leading encryption" or "military grade encryption", it's really talking about SHA-256 encryption which is just the normal standard for a lot of things.

I was mislead as to the location of lake Titicaca. I was under the impression it was in Nicaragua. Beavis and Butt-Head lied to me. What else did they lie about? Is TP really for your bunghole?

this man is so knowledgeable that when he posts videos, they get more likes than views.

I love that they are still living on floating islands on a lake, but they have solar power. Basically they are just hippies now.

This reminds me so much of the Amish in Lancaster Pa. I knew so many of them over the years and at some point, 1970's, 80's there were some mysterious stories the press ran with and Lancaster soon became a tourist destination. The Amish religion is against such vanities, they don't even have mirrors. Ironically, a society who wants to be left alone devolves into a zoo. I would regularly pull over and berate tourist who were out of their cars, taking pictures, waving and being completely ignorant. I moved away in 2005. A few years later I went back to visit a friend and there almost none of them left. They had moved to other states as far as they could get away from outsiders. The only difference is that the UROS people haven't seemed to evolve much economically and the Amish have so much CASH they could create their own state in Canada !

You have such an entertaining way of sharing knowledge, thank you for posting these videos!

drinking game: take a shot every time Thoughty2 says Titicaca

Just because you don’t have a nice house doesn’t mean you’re poor. You can still be rich with tradition and culture. Anyways, I hope and pray these amazing people continue to have a bright future 🙏🏽

That “oh grow up” got us all! 😂

That's crazy to see a navy landlocked like that. What's the most inland navy?

Hi! A bolivian right here! I might not be from La Paz (the city where the lake it's located), but I have many friends who had the chance to go to this beautiful village. If you ever go please be very respectful to everyone and the culture (many people are very rude about the food, so please don't be like that), all bolivians and peruvians we'll be very grateful for that! And thank you Thoughty2 for talking about our culture!! I hope some day you can visit us

I've always found the Uros extremely fascinating, as besides the obvious novelty of building a settlement on a lake out of reeds, they remind me of those out of planet human settlements you'd see on the Stargate tv series, using modern technology (although not all of them did) while maintaining a simple rural society. From a purely anthropological point of view i actually find their behavior more natural than that of most of today's humanity. Provided a good record of history is kept, good education, as in real education and not the indoctrination that currently passes as such, and finally, advancement of sciences, lets say for all the above specific modern settlement were built, i think a more simple and rural life style for "commoners" and the rest of the general population, could be a good way for humanity to overcome many of our current problems and the stigma that is the addiction to comfort, which pretty much desensitized us from reality.

Not such a long trip to Titicaca for me. I'm currently in Paraguay, deciding where to backpack to next. Thanks for the tip, thanks for the video. After one year of living in South America I definitely see at least one very good point in living in the middle of the lake. Mosquitos. There are no mosquitos on the water.

How my parents say they went to school: 13:46

I wonder how they prevent in-breeding issues in such a small tribe, especially with little interaction with outsiders?

I just noticed how good the audio quality is on your videos. The speech is super crisp and clear. Really stands out when you go back to your old vids from years ago 😂

Islas flotantes, the floating Islands, are not used any longer, as far as I know. I visited the location some years ago and Uros people commute to the Islands any morning from Puno. They're just tourist traps nowadays.

"Now I can finally reed in peace..." lmao

"conquistadors can't swim." -old inca proverb

I was able to visit this place a few years back! A wonderful and very interesting place, and the fish was so tasty!

Guy:sees one reed floating Guy to his friend:Im a make an Island out of that and live on it

The OG "Raft" players

God, I seriously can't stop watching these videos. Amazing work seriously.

The man is the smoothest when it comes to putting in his sponsor, in the video. I see you thoughty2 💣💥

Lol, his comment at the start when he first said Titicaca got me because I was just thinking. "That's an unfortunate name."

Titicaca, Phuket, Bangkok... Just a few great names

When he said "Lake Titicaca is an unquestionably splendid sight" I knew he did this episode just to say that

I’ve visited lake titicaca in person and you were very accurate with so many different descriptions of the lake and what it’s like visiting.

This channels is just amazing. You bring up topics that really blow your mind. This is one sad story. Money, tourism and technology have destroyed this peaceful culture of people who were happy for centuries. This channels really points out flaws in this society on a level that is amazing.

Thoughty2: Uses Metres and Miles for the same lake. Me: Visible Confusion Edits: Spelling

Thanks for being here thoughty2. You always have good stuff to report.

Since I’ve seen this video, the islands appear in my dreams once in a while. That I live there, or that I’m on vacation, it’s always nice.

I have been there, it it very interesting but the way of life is very harsh and poor. The lake stinks near the city and the area is extremely impoverished.

What I think is funny is that Thoughty has been sponsored by NordVPN, one of SurfShark's direct rivals before.

Line up the tequila and every time Thoughty2 says “Lake Titicaca” take a shot🥴

Ive actually been to that island before when I was 12, it’s a pretty cool place but I’m pretty sure they made me dress like a girl at some point, these lady’s kept trying to put weird clothes and hats on me

Great video, great mustache, as always! It's crazy all my life I knew about the existence of lake Titicaca, had no idea people lived like that over there. Sad that they may abandon such lifestyle but it must be rough to live in such a way.

Out of the Spanish, Incas and Uros. It's like the Uros picked the invisible cloak out of the 3 deathly hallows. Might be the most nerdy comment I've written, but I'm fine with it.

I spent several nights here and it’s so amazing! It’s a shame most touristic visitors don’t choose to have the same experience

"Oh, grow up." I feel like you were talking directly to me. 😆

I always enjoy watching these videos while doing history homework, makes me feel much smarter

I never ever heard of them, thanks for making such nice video on these interesting people, their resilience is amazing.

I love your Channel ! Very interesting topics but the way you present them is what brings me back. Thank you!

That was the quickest sponsor pitch I have ever heard.

Great video on Lake Titikkaka, poopoo, wewe!

I was on these islands a number of years ago and it’s really worth a visit. The whole region is beautiful and the people are awesome. I’ll admit, the name of the lake was a factor in choosing to go. Guinea Pig is delicious too!

That thumbnail looks like an awesome house. If they can lay internet cables across the Atlantic then they can get me Wifi on the island. Just need Amazon Drones to be a thing and I'd move there. Or maybe its just covid and I want a huge moat around my house.

Thanks for an extreemly good video - you are a wonderful contentcreator. A warm thanks.

You pronounce a lot of words weird, but the way you say titicaca takes the cake.

I really like these interesting history tidbits and oddities; they were the original reason why I started watching years ago.

I haven't heard of this before. You broaden my horizons. Thank you.

Lol, i live 30km from betanzos (its a town here in Galicia, Spain)nice pubs and parties there, also the guys name was like saying mike from pasadena xd

Reminds me of Fenimore Cooper's story about the floating house on the lake. That was located in Canada.

I visited Lake Titicaca and the islands with my school once! The reeds are pretty good, they taste kinda watery like the spine of a lettuce leaf, but you can’t eat too much as they are natural laxatives! Guinea pig is definitely an acquired taste though, I thought it was slimy. It was also served whole and fried so you had to look at its fried face while eating it which can ruin anyone’s appetite but I suppose that could just be me haha.

This was awesome 👏 I hope they last another 500 years at least

“Oh grow up” caught me laughin like an 8 year old 😂

The Inca had a knotted language which is a form of writing.

Should make video about how the whole Amazion jungle was created by ancient people. The even engineered the soil.

Love this channel. So fun and informative. Every sub deserved. Presented perfectly.

Me: *hears titicaca* beavis and butthead flashbacks intensify

Beavis and butt head was the first human I ever hear using this body of water name that was in the 90s lol true story 😔

In ancient times, living on those islands was an ingenious way to avoid enemies, but it's hard to understand why they bother living that way in modern times. Esp. because of the danger to young kids.

The story I was told while visiting a few years ago is that the ancestors of the uros lived sandwiched between the Inca and cola(aymara) empires. When the two rival empires would fight over territory, the uros who were part of neither the Quechua or aymara ethnic groups would often get caught in the middle of it. Both empires claimed the uros’ land as their own and taxed them for it. They eventually got tired of paying taxes to two different empires, sometimes simultaneously, so they decided to build their own islands which were not technically land and therefore not taxable.

I love your videos, keep up the awesome content!

Great mustashe!!

Watched your videos for so long now, I ordered your book. It arrived today. Can't wait to start reading.

That trip to school is still safer than the one for many inner city kids’ walk to school in Chicago.

I like the effort on the adverts but I wouldn't believe you've use PIA vpn, then you used Nord vpn and now your Surf Shark unless youre getting it for free. I also studied computer science and I just stick with PIA. Its a banger. Ive been watching for years, didnt like the moustache but now that, also, is a banger lmao

I hope they stick around. We need MORE people living unique lifestyles, ideally with an eco friendly fusion of the ancient and futuristic, not less.

Absolutely amazing and ingenious! I wonder if GRRM got his idea for Greywater Watch and the House Reed from this or at least part of it?

My mom was in Bolivia the same way 2 years that my dad was in Vietnam. She used to enjoy cui about once a month. Several years ago I was given two female guinea pigs named Chocolate and Vanilla, and she started teasing me about eating them, but a few years later when she went back for a visit, she couldn't bring herself to eat cui again. I think the village she was stationed in was reasonably close to Lake Titicaca, or at least she visited the Uros for a day or two. Thanks for this reminder.

Episode title: "Why Do These People Live in the Middle of a Lake?" Monty Python fans: "Um...Because they were evicted from their hole in the ground...?"